India immediately before the Buddha

     "... the Upanisads presented the more mystical belief in a universal and unitary spiritual Reality, called Brahman, which is the true essence, or Atman (Self), of all things. It was believed that the personal realization of this divine essence through insight, matured in the depths of meditation, would lead one to spiritual liberation, or moksa. Liberation was understood to be release from karma (Pali: kamma) and rebirth."

       Mitchell DW. Buddhism - Introducing the Buddhist Experience. ed2, Oxford University Press, 2008.

Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens, Wolfville, Nova Scotia